More extinctions looming in U.S. says Oz report

A whooping crane,the most endangered species of crane in the world, stands in an enclosure at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland. (REUTERS/LDWF (Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries)/Carrie Salyers/Handout)

Here’s a provocative and thought provoking piece about species conservation in the U.S. from The Conversation, a new site in Australia that brings together the latest academic research from across the country’s universities and academic institutes.

The argument made by Bert Harris, who’s doing his PhD at the University of Adelaide, is that three quarters of America’s threatened species aren’t being protected. And that’s despite the fact that the U.S.’s Endangered Species Act (ESA), “is arguably the world’s most effective conservation law.”

Harris’s startling conclusion is based on original research comparing what’s on the threatened species “Red List” of the Swiss-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the ESA listings. “Our research,” writes Harris, “suggests that a nearly 10-fold increase in listing would be required if the ESA were to protect the gamut of IUCN-listed species.”

As to why Harris thinks this is happening, have a read of the Conversations piece below.

And let us know what you think about species extinction. Are you worried? Or do you think this is part of ebb and flow of world history?